IT LOOKS like there are only two persons who are showing signs that they could be casting their lot in the forthcoming local elections in the second district in Davao City. One is business leader Joji Ilagan Bian; the other is the daughter of third term councilor Danilo Dayanghirang.
The third man who we suspect could possibly be eyeing a comeback at the city council is lawyer Ben Orcullo. He was a performer in his single term several years back. His failure to get reelected was a big loss to the city.
Our take on businesswoman Joji’s possible second run, either for the congressional seat or that of the city council, is her frequent appearance on Facebook, a powerful social media platform that can make or unmake politicians.
Joji’s performance when she ran against Vincent Garcia two elections ago, was not quite dismal. Possibly had she got the resources and probably an endorsement from a well-meaning local political god, she could have given her adversary some goosebumps.
On the other hand, the daughter of councilor Danny is well on her way to full recognition by the people in the second district. She is more often seen on the side of her father when he visits his area of jurisdiction. And from her father’s posts on Facebook, she’s got the kind of educational preparedness for a councilor’s job.
There are, however, names in the second district that may suddenly pop up when filing time for Certificates of Candidacy (COC) come. We are referring to the Bangoys and the Retas. They used to be dominant names in politics in that part of the city. We doubt if they just let their names be drained into the canal of oblivion.
Meanwhile, in the first district, we know that certain third termer incumbents are grooming their son or relative to take their place. According to sources, two of them are councilwoman Pilar Braga and councilor Bonifacio Militar. Both are looking up to their sons as potential replacements for them in the local legislative body. Earlier, we were thinking that Pilar was grooming her daughter for the post she would soon vacate. But according to our source who is privy to Pilar, it is her son who is right now being pushed to replace her. And Pilar is hoping that her son would also be included in the endorsees of the local political gods.
That is the same case as the son of councilor Boni. Actually, councilor Militar’s son has long been his man Friday, his face in almost every affair where he is invited to grace. The only problem is whether or not Boni will be able to convince the local political patrons to give their blessings to the younger Militar. Councilor Boni, for all the years that he was with the City Council, is not one who could just easily be manipulated to support anybody’s interest whether the interest is for his colleagues or other persons. We should know.
As for the third district, everybody is anticipating the comeback of erstwhile Vice Mayor Bernard Al-ag. As to what position we have no idea. A run for his previous position of Vice Mayor is totally dependent on the possibility of current incumbent Basti moving a position higher – that of the mayoral post. The possibility is, of course, dependent on the courses of action to be taken by his sister, incumbent Mayor Sara, who is touted to be a top presidential contender of the administration.
And if Bernard will plunge into the council derby, he will have to settle an arrangement with his elder brother incumbent councilor Nonoy Al-ag who had been a consistent top notcher in his previous runs. Will Nonoy give way? If not, will Bernard proceed and risk some kind of sibling rivalry?
Kaloy Bello, too, is likely to stage a comeback. His failure to defeat incumbent congressman Isidro “Sid” Ungab may not have dampened his hope that his supporters when he ran for a local office and won handily, will still be with him this time. And it is also possible that he might be thinking that the magic of his grandfather’s name, Luis Santos, still works.
What we are missing though and now thinking that they may totally shy away from politics are the Lopez sibling, Roy Elias, and Doc Rene. Where are they now? And what are they thinking? We are anxiously waiting for the unfolding of the local scenarios.
